Send us a text

When Jeff Horn stepped into the ring against Manny Pacquiao in 2017, few believed the former schoolteacher could defeat a boxing legend. His stunning victory to become world champion capped an unlikely journey that began when he was a bullied teenager searching for confidence.

Unlike most elite boxers, Horn discovered the sport at 18 after his football dreams faded. "I went to a martial arts gym just to learn some self-defense," he reveals, never imagining where it might lead. His coach saw something special immediately, boldly predicting Olympic qualification and eventually a world championship – both of which Horn achieved through relentless discipline and resilience.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Growing up as a quiet kid who found his feet late and in the boxing gym

- Using losses (18 of them) as fuel for growth

- Why his Olympic dream started with someone else’s belief in him

- Walking away from teaching to go pro and what changed overnight

- The moment he knew it was time to retire

- Building Bullyproof Australia and speaking to kids across the country

- The values that matter most now: courage, respect, integrity, and resilience

💎 GOLDEN NUGGET:

"Some of the best coaches weren’t players. You don’t need to be the best at something to know more about it than the people who are."

Get in Touch!

To learn more about career transitions after sport or to get in touch with Ryan, visit www.2ndwind.io

Send us a text

What do you do when your biggest career milestone happens at 23 and you're not even sure how you got there? For Freddie Woodword, representing Team GB in diving at the Olympics was both the dream and the beginning of a much deeper journey.

In this episode, we dive into Freddie’s fascinating transition from elite athlete to cruise ship performer to entrepreneur in the generative AI space. His story is one of raw honesty, reinvention, and building a meaningful life after sport without following a traditional path.

We talk about:

- The Olympic aftershock: How reaching the pinnacle of sport so young forced Freddie to reevaluate everything he thought he wanted

- What comes after the medal: The surprising shift from Olympic diving to performing in high-diving shows aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships

- The courage to walk away: Why Freddie decided not to return to diving after his break, and how he faced the identity crisis that followed

- Leaning into curiosity: How Freddie found new purpose in tech and AI by following his interests, even when the path made no sense at first

- Mental health, ego, and self-worth: A vulnerable look at the internal challenges that come with walking away from a high-performance identity

- Redefining success: What it means to build a life that’s led by values, not pressure, and why he believes AI is the future of his next chapter

Freddie’s story isn't about leaving sport. It's about finding the courage to let go of what no longer fits. Whether you’re an athlete, creative, or professional facing transition, this conversation is a powerful reminder that your identity is not your title, and success isn’t a straight line.

💎 GOLDEN NUGGET:

"You think the hardest part is getting to the Olympics, but no one tells you how hard it is to stop. The longer I stayed in something that didn’t feel aligned, the harder it became to leave."

Connect with Ryan:

Ready to explore your own second act after sport? Connect with Ryan Gonsalves and the 2NDWind Academy to discover how your athletic experience can become your professional advantage here: www.2ndwind.io

Send us a text

Kate takes us back to her early swimming days, competing in the Sydney and Athens Paralympics, and what it felt like to walk away from the pool after years of intense training. She opens up about facing subtle (and not-so-subtle) discrimination as a para-athlete, the identity crisis that followed retirement, and how she unexpectedly found a second wind through teaching and travel.

Now back in Sydney, Kate is slowly finding her way again—this time by helping young para-athletes feel seen, valued, and included. Her story is a powerful reminder that endings can also be beginnings, and that it’s okay not to have everything figured out.

We talk about:

• What life looked like after the 2000 Paralympics—and why it felt like the floor dropped
• Discovering para-swimming by accident
• Juggling training with academics (and sleeping through a lot of school)
• The bittersweet end of her competitive swimming career
• Teaching in Germany and Denmark—and losing it all because of a visa issue
• Why representation in sport still matters
• Reconnecting with the water in a new way through open-water swimming
• Her hopes for the future of para-sport and grassroots inclusion

💎 GOLDEN NUGGET:

"Paralympics isn’t about ‘having a go.’ I was in there to win—same as every other Olympian."

Get in Touch!

To learn more about career transitions after sport or to get in touch with Ryan, visit www.2ndwind.io